What are Epsom salts and why they’re AMAZING

Let’s start off with a little reality check that Christmas is ON SUNDAY!!! I find this a little cray cray! How does time fly by so fast!?

As the holidays are upon us, I have been trying to take a little more “Me” time to really chill out and relax. Also, I plan full well on continuing this trend over the break and into the new year. It makes me feel a little less anxious and a little more rested when I take time out of a busy week to just zen and relax. There are quite a few things that I have started doing but one of them is taking more baths. OKAY, OKAY I know that there are people out there who are saying “eeeewwwww baths are so gross“, I don’t really understand you, but sometimes a good soak is all I need to centre my mind and not to mention a nice bath before bed helps me fall asleep faster (even without the glass of red wine hehehe)!

So if I am having a good SOAKER bath I will most definitely use epsom salts. I feel like people talk about these salts all the time, but do we really know WHAT they are and WHY they are helping??? Welp – no stress, I did a little research of my own and let me tell you, YOU want to have these on hand at all times!

Quick facts on EPSOM SALTS

No they are not actually salt (I.E. it is QUITE different than NaCl (table salt) . . . sorry having a little geek out there, I am sure some of you appreciated that high school chemistry moment <3)

The common name “Epsom” salt is because of a natural bitter spring in Epsom, Surry, England

These salty-salts are used for both beauty regimens and for agriculture purposes

They can be used for exfoliation when combined with your cleanser

They will help that pesky splinter to dislodge from your finger

Okay there are a 92729358729835 other facts and uses for Epsom salts but I wanted to share what I do and the benefits of having a huge soak with these in it.

I like to buy the Epsom salts that are infused with lavender oil. SOOOOO here are some more facts coming at yah about why I LOVE LOVE LOVE lavender oil.

It has naturally occurring properties to relax, destress and actually help you sleep (get the little theme going on here?)! To get super technical about it, the scent has been uber researched to have a great effects on the autonomic nervous system. So the top two things that lavender oil is good for is inducing sleep and distressing. The scent calms the nerves and is also good for getting rid of headaches, migraines and depression. Since we are on the lavender topic, I will also sometimes sprinkle a few drops on my pillow before I go to sleep 🙂

So back to the Epsom salts right, I buy the ones with lavender essential oil in them already BUT if I happen upon simple, regular, RUN-OF-THE-MILL epsom salts, I can always sneak a couple drops of essential oil of my choosing (normally lavender) into the tub 🙂 Then you have this calming, soaking, soothing, sleep including, stress busting bath 🙂 What could be better!? I would say though, best to wash your hair before/after and not in the oily, epsom salty water.

Me time is such a key thing. To be honest we are all running around, multitasking the crap out of everything and not really paying attention to our own needs. Not to be selfish of course 🙂 but it is important to step back, take a few calm breathes and reflect! Think about your goals (don’t worry there is a post coming soon on planning for new year’s goals) and how far you have come! If you take the time to unwind you will feel more able to tackle new projects without getting flustered! Don’t fall into the trap of feeling like you can’t take a break! The amount of time that you rest is nothing compared to how productive you will be because of it!